Game Preview: New Orleans Pelicans vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Fresh off a win against the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, the New Orleans Pelicans continue their contenders road trip with a journey to Cleveland to face a Cavs team that many people pegged as the Eastern Conference favorite. A win would give the Pelicans a three game winning streak heading into two very winnable home games against two bad Western Conference opponents and help the Pelicans get off to an unexpectedly quick start this season as they continue to learn how to best play together.
Things are starting to come together though, led in large part by Anthony Davis. Davis is averaging an absurd 24.4 points, 12.8 rebounds and 4.4 blocks per game this season for New Orleans and already has a game winner after a drive with 6.6 seconds left to beat the Spurs. If New Orleans wants to keep winning the help around Davis must continue to be solid as it has for the most part this year for New Orleans. On Saturday that can mostly from Tyreke Evans who finished with 18 points and five rebounds and Jrue Holiday who added 15 points, 11 assists and some stifling perimeter defense on Tony Parker.
The Cavs meanwhile finally return home after a short Western Conference road trip that included a win in Denver and losses in Portland and Utah. Cleveland is still trying to find the right balance on offense between post-ups for Kevin Love and LeBron James, pick-and-rolls with James and Kyrie Irving and other motion stuff. They looked better against the Nuggets in their most recent game but it remains to be seen how much of that is real improvement and how much is the Nuggets. This is a prime chance for the Pelicans to steal a game against another contender if they play well.
When and where: 6 pm CT at Quicken Loans Arena
How to watch: The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports New Orleans
Injury report:
Cleveland: Dion Waiters is questionable with a back injury, Matthew Dellavedova is out with a knee injury.
New Orleans: Luke Babbitt is questionable with a finger injury.
Probable Starting Lineups:
Cleveland: PG Kyrie Irving, SG LeBron James, SF Shawn Marion, PF Kevin Love, C Anderson Varejao
New Orleans: PG Jrue Holiday, SG Eric Gordon, SF Tyreke Evans, PF Anthony Davis, C Omer Asik
Other players to watch:
Cleveland: Dion Waiters (if he plays), Mike Miller, Tristan Thompson
New Orleans: Ryan Anderson, Austin Rivers
Things to watch:
Who is the Cavs backup ball handler if Waiters is out?
Dion Waiters may miss tonight’s game with a sore back after a dirty foul from Darrell Arthur in the Cavs last game. Waiters was airborne to the rim for a layup when Arthur put two hands into his chest and shoved, sending Waiters flying and causing him to land hard on his rear end. Waiters moved to the bench when Dellavedova went out for a while with a knee injury as the Cavs had no real guard off the bench to handle the ball. If Waiters is out the Cavs may have to get creative with rotations and split Kyrie Irving and LeBron James up a bit more than usual to give the bench units a creator. It bears watching as any minute with James and Irving separated is a big one for New Orleans.
Can the Pelicans defend James and Marion in the post?
No matter who defends who the Pelicans are going to be at a size disadvantage on the wings. Neither Tyreke Evans or Eric Gordon is big enough to cause problems for Marion or James in the post so expect the Cavs to attack the mismatches early and often. If Cleveland can get either player in foul trouble they will be happy and I would expect James in the post to be a heavy part of the offense.
Can Anthony Davis rebound and defend Kevin Love well?
Anthony Davis leads the NBA in rebounds per game right now which has helped New Orleans end defensive possessions and get out on the break for easy points this year. Against the Cavs, Davis will have an extra tough task as Kevin Love will likely keep him floating out around the perimeter. If Davis can bother Love and make all of his shots difficult and find ways to continue to rebound at the rate he has this year the Pelicans will be in good shape. If he starts to cheat one way or the other, either sticking to Love too long or leaving him too far to chase rebounds, New Orleans could be in trouble.
How much does Monty trust the bench?
The Cavs bench has been pretty weak this season so it gives Monty Williams a chance to play guys he hasn’t as much this year and not feel like the game will get away from the Pelicans. So far this year Monty has ridden the starters hard, so any extra minutes they get on the bench could pay off very well late in the game for the Pelicans. It will be a nice test as to how much Monty trusts any non-Austin Rivers bench players in a big game.
Can Holiday lock down Irving?
Jrue Holiday made life miserable on Tony Parker on Saturday. Before that he did it to Kemba Walker on Tuesday and Mike Conley on Monday. If he can continue the trend of great defensive performances on Monday against Irving the Pelicans will have a bit more freedom to cheat towards James and any other mismatches on the court. If he struggles to contain dribble penetration the Pelicans defense could collapse in a hurry. This will be one of the more important match-ups of the game.